A week before school started, I checked my BruinBill. I assumed it would be the usual amount due.

But when I saw the thousands of dollars I was expected to pay, my heart started racing.

What was once a hopeful attitude for the start of the quarter turned into a very anxious one. I immediately called the UCLA Financial Aid & Scholarships number, only to be met with a voicemail.

I then went to their office, thinking I would meet with a representative right away. Instead, I found students sitting along the walls of the hallway and flooding the entrance, waiting for their chance to receive financial advice.

As I looked around at the stressed faces of the financial aid staff and students, one thing was clear: UCLA was not doing enough to support the office.

The university must increase financial aid office staff, extend office hours and create a more accessible phone line to mediate financial problems. If these changes are implemented, students will feel more secure and comfortable at UCLA knowing that they do not have to tackle these financial problems alone.

Beginning with the 2025-26 school year, UCLA changed its financial aid software for the first time since the 1980s.

“The new system offers a more modern user experience, improved mobile functionality and a stronger technical foundation for managing the increasing complexity of federal, state and institutional aid programs,” a UCLA Financial Aid & Scholarships spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

At the start of fall quarter, several students – like me – were met with various scholarship delays, overaward payments and errors on their BruinBill. This newly implemented software clearly did not carry out its mission, leaving students scrambling for answers at the UCLA Financial Aid & Scholarships office.

As the university continues to transition to this new software, the Financial Aid & Scholarships office should be better equipped to help students.

“It can be stressful because when it comes to financial aid, you’re thinking about a lot of money,” said Monica Juarez, a first-year design and media arts graduate student. “It’s not something small.”

The Financial Aid & Scholarships office struggled to meet the needs of the overwhelming number of concerned students confused about their BruinBills.

“This has been the only year where I’ve genuinely had a really hard time with aid,” said Elena Gonzalez Bernal, a fourth-year sociology student.

The Financial Aid & Scholarships Office is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. over the phone and in person. These hours are challenging for students, as they align with popular class times.

“UCLA Financial Aid & Scholarships currently employs 41 full-time staff, 20 student staff and four limited appointment staff,” the UCLA Financial Aid & Scholarships spokesperson said in the statement.

That is not enough people to assist over 20,000 undergraduate students who receive aid, resulting in overworked employees and a lack of sufficient advice for Bruins.

Gonzalez Bernal said that when she called, she was put on hold or thrown around to different departments without her questions answered. She added that the phone representatives were sometimes unsupportive.

Not only is this frustrating for students who need immediate help, but it is also stressful on top of students’ difficult classes, hours of homework and long shifts at work.

“Sometimes I have to make a choice between going to pick up extra shifts for work or studying for a test,” Gonzalez Bernal said.

Paying for college is a sensitive and anxiety-prone process, leaving people vulnerable and scared.

“Students also kind of feel a little embarrassed to ask for help, like financial help,” said Ernest Masiapeto, a first-year international development studies and economics student. “So even if there are resources, students don’t always make use of those resources.”

The Financial Aid & Scholarships office should be making the financial aid process easier, not harder.

UCLA must be more proactive in having more convenient office hours and hire more employees to better equip the Financial Aid & Scholarships office to fit students’ needs.

Students need to know that UCLA is on their side when paying for college.